Keynote
Speeches

Panel A

Friday, April 6th, 6.30pm

Economics of South Asia: An Instrument of Cooperation?

This panel explored
the economic relationship between India and Pakistan, its dimensions,
history, and prospects for future development and integration. The
panelists focused their discussion on such issues as microfinance,
bilateral trade and its implications for the region, international
development aid, and the role of the information technology revolution in
reshaping the economies of India and Pakistan. The panel searched for
creative proposals that can serve to ease India-Pakistan relations through
new economic initiatives.

Chair:

Shyam Sunder

Shyam Sunder
is the James L. Frank Professor of Accounting, Economics, and Finance at
the Yale School of Management and the acting Chair of South Asian
Studies at the Yale Center for International and Area Studies. His
research contributions include financial reporting, dissemination of
information in security markets, statistical theory of valuation and
design of electronic markets. Sunder is a pioneer of the fields of
experimental finance and experimental macroeconomics. He received his
Ph.D. from Carnegie Mellon University.

Panelists:

Imran Anwar,

“Communications and CommuniNations”

Imran Anwar is a
Pakistani entrepreneur, journalist and writer. He is responsible for
providing Internet based services with IMRAN.PK in Pakistan as the first
Internet Service Provider there. In 1997, Imran joined an elite team of
consultants at Silicon Valley Internet Partners (currently known as
Viant). Subsequently, he worked with Computer Associates, a major
software company. In January 2000, Anwar was appointed CEO of EverTrac,
a global joint venture between Computer Associates and United
Microelectronics (UMC) of Taiwan. Anwar is an expert on global business
strategy and socio-political affairs in South Asia.

Shahi Javed Burki,“Why is South Asia
Falling Behind?”

Shahid Javed Burki
is the Chief Executive Officer of EMP Financial Advisors, LLC. Prior to
his present position, Burki spent 25 years at the World Bank, where he
served from 1994-1999 as Vice President of the Latin America and
Caribbean region. In his previous World Bank post, as Director for China
in the East Asia and Pacific region for the period 1987-1993, Burki
designed and implemented the World Bank's lending program in China.

Rahul Tongia, "Issues
of Infrastructure in India and Pakistan"

Rahul
Tongia is currently involved in work in issues of infrastructure in
emerging economies, especially the role of technology choices for
improving deployment and penetration. Using quantitative policy and
decision analysis, he has focused on the energy and telecom domains. In
addition to engineering-economic analyses, his work also deals with
broader policy issues such as security, international collaboration
(especially US-India), and technology and analysis transfer. He earned
his Ph.D. in Engineering and Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon
University.

Ramesh Wadhwani, "The
IT revolution in South Asia"

Ramesh Wadhwani is
the founder President of SAI Systems International, a Connecticut-based
software company with offshore development programs in India. SAI
Systems International specializes in the rapid and cost-effective
delivery of information technology services and products for banking,
brokerage, telecommunications, and public safety organizations. Deloitte
& Touche has named SAI Systems as one of the fastest growing technology
companies in the United States.

Panel

B

Saturday, April 7th, 11:30am

The Security Situation in South Asia

This panel analyzed
the current security situation in South Asia. First, the panel examined how the current domestic political situation in India and Pakistan
shapes the two nations' security policies. Second, the panel examined
the role of regional and global powers such as China, Japan, and the
United States. Finally, the panel addressed the role of multilateral
diplomacy and international organizations such as the United Nations in
improving India-Pakistan relations.

Chair:

Michael B. Nicholson

Michael B.
Nicholson
is Professor of International Relations at the School of Social Sciences
of The University of Sussex and Visiting Professor of Political Science
at Yale University. He is the author of Rationality and
the Analysis of International Conflict;
Formal
Theory in International Relations;
and Causes
and Consequences in International Relations.
Nicholson received his Ph.D., M.A., and B.A. degrees from Cambridge
University.

Panelists:

Sumit Ganguly,
“Nuclearized South Asia: The risks of conflict and the prospects of peace”

Sumit Ganguly is currently a
professor in the Department of Asian Studies at University of Texas. He
received his Ph.D. at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Mr
Ganguly specializes in
international relations, world politics,
comparative politics (South Asia, Southeast Asia, Third World), ethno
politics, regional security and nuclear nonproliferation. He has served as
a consultant to the United States Institute of Peace, the U.S. Department
of Defense, on the Board of Directors of the Institute of World Affairs
and as a member of the Council on Foreign Relations (New York) and the
International Institute of Strategic Studies (London).

Karl
Inderfurth,
“South Asia: The most dangerous place in the world?”

Karl Inderfurth
recently finished his term as Assistant Secretary of State for South
Asian Affairs (1997-2001). Mr. Inderfurth attended University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill and subsequently earned his M.A. at Princeton
University. He has served as the Deputy Staff Director for the Senate
Foreign Relations Committee, US Representative for Special Political
Affairs to the UN, with the rank of Ambassador, and Deputy US
Representative to the U.N. Security Council. Mr. Inderfurth is a member
of the Council on Foreign Relations (New York) and the International
Institute for Strategic Studies (London).

Tanvir Ahmad Khan,
“Prospects of a sustained peace process between India and Pakistan”

Tanvir Ahmad Khan
served as Pakistan’s foreign secretary from 1989-1990. He was educated
at Government College (Lahore, Pakistan) and Oxford University
(England). Mr. Khan has held a numerous positions in the Pakistani
Government over the years, including that of Ambassador to Bangladesh,
Czechoslovakia, Iran, Ireland, France, Finland, and the Russian
Federation, and as Secretary of the Ministry of Information and
Broadcasting. He has also been the Chairman of one of Pakistan’s most
prestigious think tanks: the Institute of Strategic Studies in Islamabad
(1998- 2000).

Muhammad Yasin
Malik
is a co-founder and senior leader of the Kashmiri All Party Hurriyet
Conference (APHC) and chairman of the pro-independence Jammu-Kashmir
Liberation Front (JKLF). Having led the armed resistance in Kashmir in
the late 1980’s, Malik commands respect among Kashmiris on both sides of
the Line of Control dividing Kashmir. His group, the JKLF, declared a
unilateral cease-fire in 1994 and invited a dialogue to resolve the
Kashmir issue.

Panel C

Saturday,
April 7th, 3:00pm

Cultural and Historical Perspectives

This panel examined
the culture and history of the Pakistani and Indian peoples with special
emphasis placed on the realms shared by the two countries. In particular,
the panelists discussed the role of the linguistic, religious, and
ethnic ties between these two peoples. The panel further considered the
current territorial disputes within the context of the colonial legacy and
the continuing effects of the Partition Era. In an attempt to promote
conflict resolution, the panelists discussed ways in which religious
institutions, media and the popular culture, and revisionist trends in the
writing of history can be used to foster stronger bonds between the
citizens of these two countries.

Chair:

Hugh
M. Flick

Hugh M. Flick is the fourth Dean of Silliman College. He is a lecturer
in the Religious Studies Department. Flick is a scholar of Sanskrit and
Indian Studies with interests in folklore and mythology. He also holds a
law degree and is a member of the Connecticut bar.

Panelists:

Agha Ashraf Ali,
“Cultural and historical background of the conflict in Kashmir”

Agha Ashraf Ali is
a historian and veteran educator who has seen it all, and unlike other
prominent Kashmiris, he chooses to stay away from politics. He believes
that the trust between India and Kashmir has completely broken down and
that is the root cause of the present situation. He operates a school in
Sirinagar and travels through Kashmir spreading peace and harmony
through education.

Ainslie Embree, “A
dilemma for South Asia: Self-determination for Kashmir”

Ainslie Embree
is a Professor Emeritus of History at Columbia University, and is a
noted scholar of modern South Asia, and nationalist and religious
politics. He is the editor of the popular text book Sources of Indian
Tradition
and the author of Utopias in
Conflict: Religion and Nationalism in India.
Embree has served in the Royal Canadian Air Force and in the U.S.
Embassy in Delhi. In 1997, he led a delegation of the Kashmir Study
Group to Pakistan, which issued a report, "The Kashmir Dispute at Fifty:
Charting Paths to Peace."

Rajmohan
Gandhi,
“Unopened books and books of fire: History and the Subcontinent”

Rajmohan Gandhi is
a historian, biographer, commentator and former Member of the Rajya
Sabha (Indian Senate). He served as the Editor of the Indian Express and
Himmat Weekly, and has written books on Mahatma Gandhi, Vallabhbhai
Patel, and Chakravarti Rajgopalachari. He was the leader of the Indian
Delegation to the UN Human Rights Commission (1990), and co-founded the
Centre for Dialogue and Reconciliation. He was a Distinguished Halle
Fellow at Emory University, and is presently a visiting professor of
political science at University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign.

Nafisa Hoodbhoy,
“Women's quest for peace in India and Pakistan”

Nafisa Hoodbhoy,
a journalist and a political activist, holds a graduate degree in
history from Northeastern University. She worked as a staff reporter for
the Guardian Newspaper in New York and for the largest English daily
newspaper in Pakistan, DAWN. She reported and wrote commentaries on
issues concerning women, social welfare, human rights, environmental
issues, labor, NGOs, and Pakistani politics. Hoodbhoy’s work has also
been featured on BBC, Channel Four, Lifetime Television and National
Public Radio from Pakistan. She has served three times as an elected
council member of Human Rights Commission of Pakistan. Currently, she
teaches at Amherst College.

Sheema
Kermani,“The
problem of cultural identity in South Asia”

Sheema Kermani is
one of the most highly acclaimed classical dancers in Pakistan, trained
in both Bharata Natyam and Odissi styles of dance. She has also
choreographed a number of dances and among her well known productions is
“Indus and Europa.” In 1981, Mrs. Kermani formed the “Tehrik-e-Niswan”,
an NGO devoted to raising awareness with regard to women’s issues
through cultural activities, most notably through the stage, video, and
television. Since 1984 she has been teaching dance and continues to
perform. She has advocated women’s issues and general human rights in
performances and conferences worldwide, including the 1995 Beijing World
Conference.